1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a connector system for connecting units in an audio/video (AV) system and, more particularly, to a connector system in which the connector includes a microcomputer controlling switches for connecting the various units of AV equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 12 illustrates an already known receiver system for a CATV signal, in which a cable box 1 selects a channel and descrambles the CATV signal. The CATV signals for the channels are transmitted through a cable (not shown) and supplied via an input terminal 11 to a tuner 12, which selects a channel under control of a control microcomputer 13 and outputs the signals of the selected channel. The tuner 12 includes a descrambler for descrambling a scrambled video signal.
A remote-control receiver 14 receives a remote control signal in the form of an infrared ray signal from an infrared ray radiator that is described below. The remote control receiver 14 provides information relating to a selected channel and power on-off to the control microcomputer 13.
The video signal output by the tuner 12 is supplied to an RF modulator 15 that converts it into a set channel of the broadcast signal, such as channel 3 or channel 4, and supplies it to a video cassette recorder 2 (VCR) for video recording. A cable box control driver 7 in the VCR 2 directs the infrared ray radiator 3 to supply a predetermined remote control signal to the cable box 1, so that the VCR 2 can control the power on-off operation and the channel selection of the cable box 1. Such an infrared ray radiator is sometimes referred to as a "cable mouse."
In the receiver system for a CATV signal described above, the VCR 2 and a television receiver (not shown) would each receive the CATV signal directly and simultaneously from the cable box 1. This leads to the possibility of changing the channel selected by the tuner 12 in the cable box 1 with the television controls, and therefore changing the channel being recorded by the VCR 2 when the VCR 2 is in a recording mode, which would create a problem for accurate recording.
In the case of pre-set video recording, the VCR 2 supplies a predetermined remote control signal through the infrared ray radiator 3 to the cable box 1 in order to direct the power on-off operation and channel selection. However, because the VCR 2 cannot recognize the status, such as power on-off, selected channel, scrambling, etc., of the cable box 1, the VCR 2 cannot control the cable box 1 completely. Furthermore, the cable box does not have a timer, so that the timer in the VCR must be used.